History

Creation

Former Areva headquarters, rue Lafayette in Paris

Areva was created on 3 April 2001, by the merger of Framatome (later: Areva NP, now: Framatome), Cogema (later: Areva NC, now: Orano Cycle) and Technicatome (later: Areva TA, now: Techicatome). It was based on the structure of its precursor, CEA-Industrie. Anne Lauvergeon became its first CEO.[5]

Jean-Pierre Raffarin, the former Prime Minister of France, government announced the privatization of Areva in 2003, but it was postponed several times, the French government opting finally for the privatization of GDF and EDF. At the end of October 2005, French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin announced that he had suspended the privatization process.

In 2004, Areva acquired Alstom's transmission and distribution activities which became Areva T&D. It was sold back to Alstom and Schneider Electric in June 2010.[8]

On 15 September 2005, Areva and Constellation Energy of Baltimore announced a joint venture called UniStar Nuclear to market the commercial EPR in the United States.[9] The joint venture later became UniStar Nuclear Energy in 2007. In 2010, EDF acquired 100% of UniStar Nuclear Energy.[10] However these plans failed to come to fruition, and in February 2015 Areva suspended the EPR Design Certification Application Review process at the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC).[11]

In 2006, Areva created its renewable energies business group.[12] Creusot Forge and Creusot Mécanique merged into the Areva group,[13][14] even though there were quality concerns over Creusot Forge's work.[15] In 2007, Areva purchased 51% of offshore wind turbine manufacturer Multibrid.[16] In June 2010, Areva purchased the remaining 49% and formed Areva Wind. In February 2010, Areva bought Ausra, and renamed it Areva Solar.[17][18]

In 2007, Areva purchased UraMin, which later became Areva Resources Southern Africa (now part of Orano).

On 6 May 2008 Areva announced that it would seek all necessary approval to build an enrichment facility in Bonneville County, Idaho.[24] The project was later cancelled. Also in 2008, Areva was awarded an operations contract to clean up the Sellafield nuclear reprocessing site as part of the Nuclear Management Partners consortium, made up of URS, Amec and Areva.[25]

In June 2008, Areva reached an agreement with Kazatomprom to create a joint-venture Katco.[26]

In December 2011, Areva suspended building work at several sites in France, Africa and the United States, one day after forecasting a €1.6 billion ($2.1 billion) loss.
Areva halted "capacity extensions" at its La Hague Reprocessing Plant, in northern France, at its Melox factory in the southwest, and at two sites attached to its Tricastin power plant in the south. Work has also stopped on extensions to uranium mines in Bakouma in the Central African Republic, Trekkopje in Namibia, and Ryst Kuil in South Africa,[30] and caused a potential delay in construction until a capital solution is secured for the Eagle Rock Enrichment Facility in the United States.[31] Areva wrote off most of the $2.5 billion purchase cost of Canadian uranium mining company Uramin, purchased in 2007, after concluding that its uranium ore deposits were of negligible value.[32]

In September 2014 Standard & Poor's stated it might downgrade Areva's credit rating following weak first-half results, leading to Areva indicating it would cut capital spending and dispose of some assets.[33] In March 2015 Standard & Poor's further downgraded Areva's credit rating to BB- after Areva posted a €4.8 billion loss for 2014.

In 2012, Areva acquired a hydrogen technology developer Compagnie européenne des technologies de l'hydrogène (CETH) and renamed it Areva H2Gen. At the same year, it inaugurated a hydrogen storage system called the MYRTE platform near Ajaccio, Corsica (MYRTE is the French acronym for Mission Hydrogène Renouvelable pour l’intégration au réseau électrique).[34] The system aims to establish the feasibility of a storage solution for solar energy using hydrogen technologies, which would serve as a back-up system to stabilize Corsica’s power grid.[34] In 2014, Areva's energy storage and management system, the Greenergy Box, was added to the existing installation, in operation since early 2013. In January 2014, Areva and Spain's wind turbine manufacturer Gamesa Corporación Tecnológica created on the bases of Areva Wind a joint venture Adwen.[35] In August 2014, Areva exit the solar industry.[36]

In October, 2013, Areva won a $2.7 billion contract to supply two EPR nuclear reactors and control systems to the Hinkley Point C plant in Somerset, England.[37][38]

In December 2013, Areva and China General Nuclear Power (CGN) agreed to a partnership in renewable energy, with a focus on offshore wind, biomass, concentrated solar power, and energy storage.[39]

In October 2014, CEO Luc Oursel took a leave of absence for health reasons.[33] He died in December of the same year.[40] On 20 November 2014 Standard & Poor's downgraded Areva long-term debt to BB+ and short-term-debt to A-3.[41][42]

In May 2014, Areva through its subsidiary CETH2, and the ADEME (French Environment and Energy Management Agency), announced the creation of the AREVA H2-Gen joint venture.[43]

In December 2015 operations at Le Creusot Forge were stopped following a discovery at the Flamanville Nuclear Power Plant.[44][45] About 400 large steel forgings manufactured by Le Creusot Forge since 1965 found to have carbon-content irregularities that weakened the steel. A widespread programme of reactor checks was started involving a progressive programme of reactor shutdowns. This caused power price increases in Europe as France increased electricity imports, especially from Germany, to augment supply.[46][47] In December 2016 international inspectors found evidence of recent doctored paperwork, which had not been detected by Areva's independent quality control checks.[48][49] In April 2017 Autorité de sûreté nucléaire (ASN) published the requirements for forging to resume at Le Creusot Forge.[44][45] In August 2017 ASN published a draft decision requiring the examination of Le Creusot Forge manufacturing records of all components during scheduled reactor refuelling outages.[50]

Restructuring

In June 2016 Areva's restructuring plans were made public, including the sale of the majority of its reactor business to EDF in 2017, excluding the Olkiluoto 3 EPR under construction in Finland which will remain with Areva SA.[51] In December 2017, Areva and EDF signed agreements on the transfer of Areva NP's nuclear reactor operations.[52] As part of the restructuring plan, Areva created a new fuel cycle company, dubbed as New Co or New Areva. The new company combined Areva Mines, Areva NC, Areva Projects, and Areva Business Support companies.[53] It was created as a wholly owned subsidiary of Areva; however, Areva lost control over the company as the French government invested to recapitalize the company. On 23 January 2018 that company changed its name to Orano.[53][54] In January 2017, Areva sold its stake in the wind turbine manufacturer Adwen.[55] In March 2017, Areva sold its nuclear propulsion and research reactor subsidiary Areva TA to Agence des Participations de l'Etat.[56]

Current operations

As of 2019, Areva S.A. is responsible only for the liabilities related to the Olkiluoto 3 project. The reactor, which is one of the first of the new Generation III reactors, was initially expected to begin producing electricity in 2009, but the project has delayed at least until 2020, and it has faced several price increases.[6] Areva and TVO have reached an agreement, according to which Areva would pay €450 million in compensation over the delays and lost income. The agreement would settle all legal actions between the two companies.<[57]ref name="TVO-2018-03-11">"TVO confirms a settlement agreement signed on OL3 EPR project completion and related disputes". TVO. 11 March 2018. Retrieved 12 March 2018.</ref>

Areva also holds of 40% stake in Orano.

Past operations

Areva was a company with a presence in each industrial activity linked to nuclear energy: mining, chemistry, enrichment, fuel assembly, reprocessing, engineering, nuclear propulsion and reactors, treatment, recycling, stabilization and dismantling. Areva also offered technological solutions for renewable energy.[58] Areva's activities were divided into five business groups.[59]

Nuclear operations

The mining business group managed the exploration of uranium ore, its extraction, and processing, as well as the restoration of sites after mine closure.[60] It had staff on five continents and operated uranium production sites in Canada, Kazakhstan, and Niger.[61] As of the end of 2013, the Mining Business Group employed 4,463 people.[62] Uranium production accounted for 19% of Areva's consolidated revenue in 2013.[63] It is now part of Orano.

The front end business group provided access to fuel for Areva's customers, and oversees operations to convert uranium into nuclear fuel, including the chemical conversion of ore into uranium hexafluoride, the enrichment of uranium, and the design and production of fuel for nuclear reactors.[64] As of the end of 2013, 8,555 people worked for Areva's front end business group.[65] It accounted for 24% of Areva's consolidated revenue in 2013.[65] It is now part of Orano.

The reactors and services business group designed and built pressurized water reactors and boiling water reactors, and offers products to service nuclear reactors. It is now part of Framatome. The business group also designed and built naval propulsion and research reactors, which is now Technicatome. The business group had 15,592 employees at the end of 2013 and generated 36% of Areva's revenue in the same year.

The back end business group developed recycling solutions for used fuel for reuse in reactors. It also offered storage and transportation solutions for radioactive material, and site rehabilitation at nuclear facilities. Its is now part of Orano. At the end of 2013, it had 11,583 employees and made up for 19% of Areva's revenue. In 2017 the NUHOMS Matrix advanced used nuclear fuel storage overpack, a high-density system for storing multiple spent fuel rods in canisters, was launched.[66]

Renewable energy operations

Areva created its global renewable energies business group in 2006 as an expansion of its clean energy portfolio with renewable energy.[12] This group represented four business lines: concentrated solar power, offshore wind power, biomass power, and hydrogen power storage and distribution. Areva built biomass power plants worldwide, representing 2.5 GWe of installed capacity.[67] These plants located in Brazil, Chile, Germany, the Netherlands, India and Thailand.[67][68][69] Its subsidiary Areva Renewables Brazil built biomass power plants based on bagasse (organic waste from sugar cane).[70] In the United States, Areva formed a partnership with Duke Energy to build and operate 55 MW biomass power plants based on wood waste.[71]

Areva acquired a bio-coal production technology called Thermya,[72] which produces a biofuel issued from biomass torrefaction that can replace coal to generate thermal energy and electricity.[73][74] Areva also developed AdCub, a modular concept for compact power plants targeting small-scale biomass resources that addresses relatively untapped growth opportunities in Europe. The objective is to combine innovative solutions which optimize customer costs for small-scale power plants (between 3 and 6 MW) and reduce construction time. This new biomass plant concept also aims to improve upstream technologies for multi-fuel acceptance and higher availability.[73]

Areva designed, manufactured and industrialized turnkey energy storage solutions and products to generate electricity with fuel cells and produce hydrogen by electrolysis. Areva supported research in the hydrogen field through partnerships with a number of industrial companies and national research organizations including Agence Nationale de la Recherche, the Horizon Hydrogen Energy (H2E) program, PAN-H (Plan d'Action National sur l'Hydrogène et les piles à combustible) and Pôle Capenergies, an innovation cluster dedicated to the development of renewable forms of energy without greenhouse gas emissions.[75]

CERCA, a subsidiary of Areva that produces fuel for research reactors, was also involved in TRIGA, a research reactor established in 1996 with the US firm General Atomics that is used for training, research, and the production of radioisotopes.[80]

Notable incidents

2007 fine

In January 2007, Areva was fined €53 million by the European Commission for rigging EU electricity markets through a cartel involving 11 companies, including ABB, Alstom, Fuji, Hitachi Japan, AE Power Systems, Mitsubishi Electric Corp, Schneider Electric, Siemens, Toshiba and VA Tech ELIN.[82] According to the Commission, "between 1988 and 2004, the companies rigged bids for procurement contracts, fixed prices, allocated projects to each other, shared markets and exchanged commercially important and confidential information."[82]

Areva is not accused of any cartel involvement other than through the acquisition of an Alstom unit in January 2004. "This subsidiary was acquired by the Areva group towards the end of the infringement, in January 2004. The parent entities of the Areva group share a joint liability with that subsidiary for the period after its acquisition."[83] "A few months before the cartel ended, Alstom sold the unit involved to Areva, which knew nothing of the cartel. It [Areva] and Alstom have joint liability for 53.6 million, which they must decide how to split."[84]

Bakouma assault

On 24 June 2012, an armed group assaulted a uranium plant operated by Areva at Bakouma in the southeast of the Central African Republic. A statement by the military described that "a violent clash on Sunday afternoon pitted" Central African troops against "an unidentified group of armed men attempting to launch an assault on the site of mining company Areva".

According to the report the army successfully repelled the attack, but "the enemy did some material damage and pulled back while taking a sizeable quantity mainly of food with them." The Areva group issued no immediate statement regarding the attack. Central African military sources believe that the attack was organized by members of the Chadian rebel group Popular Front for Recovery (FPR) led by 'General' Baba Ladde, which has been active in the region since 2008. The army says it's conducting further operations to neutralize the remaining armed rebels in the region of Bakouma.[86][87]

Attack in Niger

In May 2013, the company's uranium mine in Niger was damaged and one civilian was killed in an Al-Qaeda-linked suicide bomb attack.[88] The mine reached full production again in August 2013.[89][90]

Tuareg people

In November 2009, Greenpeace released a report indicating that two villages near Areva's mining operations in Niger had dangerously high levels of radiation.[91][92]

In January 2014, Al Jazeera produced Orphans of the Sahara, three-part series on the Tuareg people of the Sahara desert, in which claims were brought to light that Areva mining and consequent radiations are causing diseases and deaths among their people.[93]

Al Jazeera also published Areva's response, in which the company said it submits regular reports on its environmental monitoring of water, air and soil to the Nigerien Office of Environmental Assessments and Impact Studies (BEEEI) which indicate that there is no pollution around the sites in question.[94]

Corporate issues

Name etymology

Main shareholder

Areva's main shareholder was the French public-sector company, the CEA (Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives), which owns 68.88%.[95] Areva was incorporated under French law as a société anonyme (SA: public corporation) and is also recognized as a public limited company in the United Kingdom and a corporation in United States jurisdictions.[95] After restructuring, the French State owns 100% of the company.

Sport sponsoring

Areva has sponsored several sporting events over the years. In 2009, Areva launched Athlenergy.com, an online resource for runners,[96] and became the sponsor of the French Athletics Federation[97] and the official sponsor of Meeting Areva, a track and field competition held annually at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, France.[98] In May 2014, Athlenergy.com became Arevarun. Areva also sponsors several running events, including the Paris Half Marathon[99] and Saintélyon, a night run from Sainte Etienne to Lyon, in France.[100]

In 2008, Areva signed a contract to sponsor the German football club FC Nürnberg until 2012.[101] The contract was completed in 2012.[102]

Areva sponsored the French "Defi Areva" team in the 2002 America's Cup race, and the French "Areva Challenge" team in the 2007 America's Cup race. In 2002, during its first public appearance, in Lorient, France, the "Defi Areva" yacht collided with a dinghy carrying four Greenpeace protesters, and the impact knocked a hole in the side of the 80-foot boat.[103][104]

The 2007 Louis Vuitton Cup held in Valencia, Spain, from April 16 to June 6 was the event used to select the challenger for the 2007 America's Cup. Eleven potential challengers competed in the competition which consisted of two round robins, two semi-finals and a final. The winner was Emirates Team New Zealand, who challenged the defender Alinghi in June 2007 for the America's Cup.

ALL4ONE Challenge is a French-German yacht racing team that competes in International America's Cup Class races. The team has formerly competed as K-Challenge and between 2005 and 2007 they were known as Areva Challenge.

Areva Solar was part of the renewable energies portfolio of the French nuclear group Areva, headquartered in Mountain View, California, with offices in the United States and Australia. It designed, manufactured and installed solar steam generators for electric power production and industrial steam uses. Before 2010, the company existed as Ausra Inc. In August 2014, AREVA announced it was shuttering AREVA Solar.

Atmea is a joint venture between Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) and EDF Group that develops, markets, licenses and sells the ATMEA1 reactor, a new generation III+, medium-power pressurized water reactor (PWR). The company is headquartered in Paris.

The CPR-1000, or CPR1000, (improved Chinese PWR) is a Generation II+ pressurized water reactor, based on the French 900 MWe three cooling loop design imported in the 1990s, improved to have a net power output of 1,000 MWe (1080 MWe gross) and a 60-year design life.

The CPR-1000 is built and operated by the China General Nuclear Power Group (CGNPG), formerly known as China Guangdong Nuclear Power. Progressively more Chinese manufactured components were used in the units; the second unit built had 70% of its equipment manufactured in China, with a 90% Chinese content target for later builds.

The EPR is a third generation pressurised water reactor (PWR) design. It has been designed and developed mainly by Framatome (part of Areva between 2001 and 2017) and Électricité de France (EDF) in France, and Siemens in Germany. In Europe this reactor design was called European Pressurised Reactor, and the internationalised name was Evolutionary Power Reactor, but it is now simply named EPR.

The first operational EPR unit was China's Taishan 1, which started in December 2018 . Taishan 2 is expected to begin operation in 2019. The first two EPR units to start construction, at Olkiluoto in Finland and Flamanville in France, are both facing costly delays (to at least 2020). Two units at Hinkley Point in the United Kingdom received final approval in September 2016 and are expected to be completed by 2025.EDF has acknowledged severe difficulties in building the EPR design. In September 2015 EDF stated that the design of a "New Model" EPR was being worked on, which will be easier and cheaper to build.

The 5 megawatt (MW) Kimberlina Solar Thermal Energy Plant in Bakersfield, California is the first commercial solar thermal power plant to be built by Areva Solar. Completed in 2008, the Kimberlina renewable energy solar boiler uses Compact Linear Fresnel Reflector (CLFR) technology to generate superheated steam. Each solar boiler has a group of 13 narrow, flat mirrors, that individually track and focus the sun's heat onto overhead pipes carrying water. The water boils directly into steam. The steam can then spin a turbine to generate electricity or be used as industrial steam for food, oil and desalination processes. The Kimberlina solar boiler currently achieves 750-degree F superheated steam. The next generation solar boiler under construction is designed to achieve 900-degree F superheated steam.

AREVA Solar's boiler is the first and only solar boiler certified with an S-Stamp by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME).

The Kimberlina Solar Thermal Energy Plant was the first of its kind to be built in California in more than 20 years, with the previous plant being the Solar Energy Generating Systems, which employs solar troughs.

Le Défi was a French America's Cup team that competed in the 1992, 1995, 2000 and 2003 Louis Vuitton Cups and in the first few Acts of the 2007 Louis Vuitton Cup. After 2005 Le Défi supported China Team.

The Malvesi uranium processing plant, a uranium refinery and conversion facility, is located in the Malvezy industrial area near the city of Narbonne in the south of France. The plant has an average capacity of about 14,000 tU as uranium tetrafluoride per year, and is projected to increase its capacity up to 21,000 tU per year. Comurhex, a subsidiary of the French nuclear concern Orano, operate the Malvesi Facility.

Meeting de Paris (formerly known as the Meeting Areva and Meeting Gaz de France) is an annual track and field meeting at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, France. Previously one of the IAAF Golden League events, it is now part of the IAAF Diamond League. It was first organized in 1999. The record attendance was set on 1 July 2005, with a total of 70,253 spectators.

The Olkiluoto Nuclear Power Plant (Finnish: Olkiluodon ydinvoimalaitos) is on Olkiluoto Island, which is on the shore of the Gulf of Bothnia in the municipality of Eurajoki in western Finland. It is one of Finland's two nuclear power plants, the other being the two-unit VVER Loviisa Nuclear Power Plant. The plant is owned and operated by Teollisuuden Voima (TVO), a subsidiary of Pohjolan Voima.

The Olkiluoto plant consists of two Boiling Water Reactors (BWRs) producing 880 MW and 890 MW of electricity.

A third reactor, Unit 3, is expected to be online in January 2020.Unit 3 is an EPR reactor and is under construction since 2005.

The start of commercial operation was originally planned for May 2009 but the project is delayed and the latest estimate (as of November 2018) for start of regular production is January 2020.

In December 2012, the French multi-national building contractor, Areva, estimated that the full cost of building the reactor will be about €8.5 billion, or almost three times the delivery price of €3 billion.A decision-in-principle for a fourth reactor to be built at the site was granted by the Finnish parliament in July 2010, but in June 2015 TVO decided that it will not apply for a construction license for Olkiluoto 4.

Orano SA is a multinational nuclear fuel cycle company headquartered in Courbevoie, Paris, France. The company is engaged in uranium mining, conversion-enrichment, spent fuel recycling, nuclear logistics, dismantling, and nuclear cycle engineering activities. It was created in 2017 as a result of restructuring and recaptalizing of the nuclear conglomerate Areva. Orano is majority owned by the French state.

Orano Canada (formerly AREVA Resources Canada Inc.) is a uranium mining, milling, and exploration company headquartered in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. Orano is a subsidiary of the Orano Group, an international nuclear energy company headquartered in Paris, France with 16,000 employees worldwide.

Orano Cycle, formerly COGEMA (Compagnie générale des matières nucléaires) and Areva NC, is a French nuclear company. It is the main subsidiary of Orano S.A. The company was created in 1976 from the production division of the French government's CEA (English: Atomic Energy Commission). It is an industrial group active in all stages of the uranium fuel cycle, including uranium mining, conversion, enrichment, spent fuel reprocessing, and recycling. In 2001, COGEMA was merged with Framatome and CEA Industrie to form the larger group Areva; the subsidiary's name was changed to Areva NC in March 2006. In 2018, it changed its name to Orano Cycle to reflect the restructuring of Areva.

Tour Areva (previously known as Tour Framatome and Tour Fiat) is an office skyscraper located in La Défense, a high-rise business district, and in the commune of Courbevoie, France, west of Paris.

Built in 1974, the tower is 184 m (604 feet) tall.

Tour Areva is entirely black; its cladding is made of dark granite and darkened windows. Its shape is that of a perfect square prism. It is said that its architects were inspired by the black monolith in Stanley Kubrick's film 2001: A Space Odyssey.

The site where the tower was built was codenamed CB1 in La Défense initial master plan. A twin tower of Tour Areva was initially planned at the current location of the Tour Total, but was cancelled due to the 1973 oil crisis.

Électricité de France S.A. (EDF; Electricity of France) is a French electric utility company, largely owned by the French state. Headquartered in Paris, with €71.2 billion in revenues in 2016, EDF operates a diverse portfolio of 120+ gigawatts of generation capacity in Europe, South America, North America, Asia, the Middle East and Africa.

In 2009, EDF was the world's largest producer of electricity. In 2011, it produced 22% of the European Union's electricity, primarily from nuclear power:

In 2017 EDF took over the majority of the reactor business of Areva, in a French government sponsored restructuring following financial and technical problems at Areva. In July 2017, France's Environmental Minister Nicolas Hulot stated that up to 17 of France's nuclear power reactors — all of which are operated by EDF — could be shuttered by 2025 to meet legislative targets for reducing dependence on the power source.

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